Hatshepsut: Queen of the Style
/Who the Fab Lady Is
Hatshepsut was born into the Egyptian royal family, circa 1508 B.C.E. She married Thutmosis II, her step-brother, which was kind of weird. She was 12-years-old, which makes it a little more weird, but it’s not as bad as their mythology. Anyways, Thutmosis II reigned as pharaoh for a couple of years before dying, and since Thutmosis III was too young to ascend the throne, Hatshepsut then pulled a Ching Shih and took the throne for herself, making her pharaoh and co-regent, and ruled for over 22 years until her death.
The Kick-Ass Things She Did
Despite being one of the few females, Hatshepsut was one of the most prosperous pharaohs to rule Egypt. She focused heavily on improving the economy because she knew there were more productive things to do than start wars. But even though she didn’t pick any fights, she did go on expeditions to a village called Punt, and brought back many valuable materials to further nourish Egypt’s wealth. Some of these materials were ebony, ivory and gold. Maybe she had a fancy piano in mind.
Hatshepsut also kick-started many building projects, one of the most amazing being a temple named Deir el-Bahari. Known back then as djeser-djeseru, the name translated to “the holiest of holy places.” This queen was all about style.
Hatshepsut was the original bearded lady.
How She Fought the Patriarchy
Hatshepsut was only one of very few women that became a pharaoh, and she held onto that throne like Maggie Simpson with Mr. Burns’ teddy bear. Of course, there was opposition while she was in this position, later on from Thutmosis III, but she was going to be a pharaoh and Egypt was going to like it.
To assure her status as a pharaoh, Hatshepsut used propaganda in the form of the typical Egyptian self-portraits—paintings and large statues. In her statues, Hatshepsut was portrayed as she dressed: in men’s royal garbs with false beards attached. However, the lady queen did want her femininity intact as well, so the statues feature her female physical features.
References une, deux et trois.
Erin Chambers
When she is not on the internet blogging or chatting with buddies, Erin often finds herself consumed by paper, through drawing, reading or doodling and planning out ideas. She also enjoys playing video games, watching old cartoons and throwing sarcastic remarks at her siblings. Her motivation stems from her interests and her friends, and she enjoys turning them into characters and letting them run wild in her fantasy worlds.
Links: Badass of the Week | Horrible Histories | Spine Online - Squarespace
